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CR identifies Good Bets and Bad Bets to help guide used car buying decisions
Used cars often offer consumers the best values in the automotive market since new vehicles undergo a rapid depreciation in the first few years. Consumer Reports 2007 April Auto Issue features the lists of the best and worst used vehicles for 10 model years, 1997 through 2006.
Reliable vehicles and Vehicles to avoid include all models that showed above- or below-average overall reliability in CR's 2006 Annual Car Reliability Survey, which drew responses on about 1.3 million vehicles. CR has found that improved reliability has made used cars more appealing and insurance rates tend to be less expensive.
The Reliable vehicles list is categorized by price and features vehicles that are available from under $4,000 to $30,000 and up. For consumers on a budget, CR found 10 cars that they could purchase for under $4,000 including the 1998 Chevrolet Prizm and the 1997 Toyota Tercel.
CR Good Bets, which is derived from the Reliable vehicles list, features vehicles that have performed well in CR's road tests and have had several years of better-than-average reliability according to survey respondents. CR Good Bets includes vehicles from Acura, Buick, Chevrolet, Honda, Infiniti, Lexus, Lincoln, Mazda, Nissan, Pontiac, Scion, Subaru, and Toyota. Below is the full list of models.
CR GOOD BETS
These models, listed alphabetically, have performed well in Consumer Reports road tests and have had several years of better-than-average reliability according to our survey respondents.
Acura Integra Honda Pilot Lincoln Town Car Toyota 4Runner Acura MDX Honda Prelude Mazda Millenia Toyota Avalon Acura RL Honda S2000 Mazda MX-5 Miata Toyota Camry Acura RSX Infiniti FX Mazda Protege Toyota Camry Solara (except '06) Infiniti G20 Mazda3 Toyota Celica Acura TL Infiniti G35 Nissan Altima Toyota Corolla Acura TSX Infiniti I30,I35 Nissan Maxima Toyota Echo Buick Regal Infiniti QX4 Nissan Pathfinder Toyota Highlander Chevrolet Prizm Lexus ES Pontiac Vibe Toyota Land Cruiser Honda Accord Lexus GS Scion xB Toyota Matrix Honda Civic Lexus GX Subaru Forester Toyota Prius Honda Civic Hybrid Lexus IS Subaru Impreza Toyota RAV4 Honda CR-V Lexus LS Subaru Impreza WRX Toyota Sequoia Honda Element Lexus RX Subaru Legacy Toyota Sienna Honda Odyssey Lexus SC Subaru Outback Toyota Tundra
Vehicles that earned below-average Used Car Verdicts, meaning they proved worse or much worse than average earned a spot on the Vehicles to avoid list. Those which showed multiple Used Car Verdicts that were much worse than average were placed on the CR Bad Bets list. The models below from BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, GMC, Infiniti, Jaguar, Jeep, Kia, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Volkswagen, and Volvo consistently had more problems than other models overall. Below is the full list of models.
CR BAD BETS
These vehicles showed multiple Used Car Verdicts that were much worse than average, according to our survey respondents. They consistently had more problems than other models overall.
BMW 7 Series Infiniti QX56 Oldsmobile Bravada
BMW X5 (V8) Jaguar S-Type Oldsmobile Cutlas
Chevrolet Astro Jaguar X-Type Oldsmobile Silhouette
Chevrolet Blazer Jeep Grand Cherokee Pontiac Aztek
Chevrolet Express Kia Sedona (except '06) Pontiac Trans Sport,
Montana,
Chevrolet S-10 (4WD) Land Rover Discovery, LR3 Montana SV6
Chevrolet Venture, Lincoln Aviator Volkswagen Cabrio
Uplander
Chrysler Town & Country Lincoln Navigator Volkswagen Jetta
(AWD) (turbo, gas)
Mercedes-Benz CLK Volkswagen Jetta (V6) Volkswagen New Beetle
(4-cyl.)
Dodge Grand Caravan Mercedes-Benz M-Class (V8) Volkswagen Touareg
(AWD)
GMC Jimmy Mercedes-Benz S-Class (V8) Volvo XC90 (6-cyl.)
GMC Sonoma (4WD) Mercedes-Benz SL
GMC Safari Nissan Armada
GMC Savana Nissan Titan
For a full list of Reliable vehicles and Vehicles to avoid, check out the full report in Consumer Reports' Annual April Auto Issue on sale from March 6 through June 6. The Auto Issue is available wherever magazines are sold. Free highlights from the April Auto Issue, including the lists of CR Good Bets and CR Bad Bets, will be available at http://cars.consumerreports.org/.
Consumer Reports is one of the most trusted sources for information and advice on consumer products and services. It conducts the most comprehensive auto-test program of any U.S. publication or Web site; the magazine's auto experts have decades of experience in driving, testing, and reporting on cars. To subscribe to Consumer Reports, call 1-800-234-1645. Information and articles from the magazine can be accessed online at http://www.consumerreports.org/.
APRIL 2007
The material above is intended for legitimate news entities only; it may not be used for commercial or promotional purposes. Consumer Reports(R) is published by Consumers Union, an expert, independent nonprofit organization whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers and to empower consumers to protect themselves. To achieve this mission, we test, inform, and protect. To maintain our independence and impartiality, Consumers Union accepts no outside advertising, no free test samples, and has no agenda other than the interests of consumers. Consumers Union supports itself through the sale of our information products and services, individual contributions, and a few noncommercial grants.
Source: Consumers Union
Web site: http://www.consumerreports.org/
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